Alan Cumming says he was offered major Hogwarts role but told ‘Harry Potter’ producers to ‘f*** off’

Alan Cumming says he was offered a screen test for a part in the Harry Potter film franchise - but told producers to ‘f*** off’ over a money issue.

In a new interview with The Telegraph, the Scottish actor said that he was asked to take a screen test alongside fellow British actor Rupert Everett for the character of Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

They said they couldn’t pay him more than a certain sum if he got the role, but the pair share an agent, so he found out that wasn’t true.

He said: “I had the same agent as Rupert, who of course, they were going to pay more. Blatantly lying, stupidly lying, as well. Like, if you’re going to lie, be clever about it.”

As a result: “I didn’t turn it down. I told them to f***off.”

In the end, the part went to Kenneth Branagh.

Twitter users mostly sided with Cumming: “We only have this much money... but we can pay the other guy more.’ Lol, Hollywood really never disappoints,” someone wrote on Twitter.

But others thought that he was foolish for not taking on the role, with one writing, “Absolute fool! I would’ve played this role or any role in Harry Potter!”

Check out some other responses below:

Hugh Grant was initially offered the job of Gilderoy Lockhart, which he accepted, according to reports. However, due to a scheduling constraint, Grant had to decline the offer.

During that time, Grant was doing a romantic comedy movie with Sandra Bullock, known as Two Weeks Notice.

He had already started preparing for the role of Harry Potter by dying his hair blonde when he was forced to pull out, according to The Guardian.

Cumming defended his current HBO Max animated show The Prince during his chat with The Telegraph. The controversial black comedy is a spoof on the British royal family, focusing on Prince George, who is eight years old.

Cumming, who plays Prince George’s butler, said that the show isn’t “as mean as people think.”

When asked if he believed the royal family would enjoy the show, he replied, “If they appreciate satire, they might … It’s quite tender, actually – my character with George, it’s a really lovely relationship.”